Projectile stowage rack

Abstract

A stowage rack unit consisting of a plurality of upright stanchions to prde a basic rack framework. The rack includes upper clamps and collars to restrict upward and horizontal motion of the projectiles. The collars have a two-piece threaded arrangement which allows adjustment to accommodate minor variations in projectile length. Lower clamps are provided for additional restraint against horizontal motion of the projectiles. Base plates are provided to support and restrict downward motion of the projectiles and side channels receive and secure the clamps and base plates. Additional special brackets are provided for attaching racks to bulkheads or for joining adjacent racks. To load the rack, side channels are attached to the stanchions and base plates are inserted into the lower pair of side channels and secured with pins. Individual upper and lower clamps are inserted into upper and middle side channels respectively and secured with pins. Projectiles are loaded vertically into receiving slots in the upper and lower clamps and an additional set of upper and lower clamps are inserted into their respective side channels and secured. The projectiles are locked in place by the two-piece collars which are secured by a quick release bolt. The process is repeated for each row of projectiles until the rack is completely loaded.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. A stowage rack comprising: (a) two pairs of vertical support members;   (b) a plurality of side channels connected to respective pairs of said vertical support members, said plurality of side channels including a pair of upper side channels, a pair of middle side channels, and a pair of lower side channels;   (c) a plurality of upper clamps and lower clamps engaging said side channels, said upper clamps and said lower clamps including openings for receiving vertically extending objects such as projectiles;   (d) a plurality of base plates engaging said side channels, said base plates supporting the lower end of said vertically extending objects and including slots for receiving the lower end of said vertically extending objects;   (f) each of said pairs of side channels having a slot for receiving the ends of said upper clamps, said lower clamps and said base plates; and   (g) an adjustable collar engaging the upper end of each vertically extending object and said upper clamps to retain said vertically extending object in fixed position, said adjustable collar including a bottom collar and a top collar wherein said bottom collar engages said upper clamp and said top collar engages said object.   
     
     
       2. The stowage rack of claim 1 wherein: (a) said bottom collar has female threads and two flanges and two slots respectively in each of said flanges for engaging with bolts mounted in said upper clamps.   
     
     
       3. The stowage rack of claim 2 wherein: (a) said top collar includes male threads and a tapered flange, said male threads engaging said female threads of said bottom collar and said tapered flange engaging said vertically extending object.